Information and communication technologies have become a firmly established part of everyday life in private households. Activities such as communicating, searching for information, shopping, or ordering goods via the Internet have become standard practice for many people. The Internet is often accessed via a home gateway or a comparable device, which serves as an interface for all networks and bus systems that exist in the private household. To enable wireless communication, particularly with the mobile communication terminals that exist in a private household, such a home gateway comprises a WLAN base station (also called a WLAN access point) or is connected to one.
Another frequently utilized option for accessing the Internet are the so-called “WiFi hotspots”, which typically are public wireless WiFi base stations which are available to everyone (as the case may be against payment of a fee). WiFi hotspots are installed both in public spaces (libraries, hospitals, airports, railway stations, etc.) and in private spaces, e.g. restaurants, cafes, hotels, etc.
It is foreseeable that the number of (mobile) terminals which can communicate via a mobile radio network and/or a WiFi network will increase dramatically in the near future, wherein these communication terminals will, in addition to “classic” mobile telephones, also include “smart” devices such as sensors, cameras, traffic infrastructure, and similar devices, which are part of the “Internet of Things”. Handling the associated communication volume constitutes an enormous challenge for existing mobile radio network structures.